Find Out if Your Church, School or Nonprofit Is at Risk of a Cyber Attack
Table of contents
- Find Out if Your Church, School or Nonprofit Is at Risk of a Cyber Attack
- Awareness for Data Security
- The Good: Convenience of Digital
- The Bad: Cyber Security Attacks Are on the Rise
- The Ugly: Data Breaches Cost the World Trillions Every Year
- Fight Back With Cyber Security Measures
- Cyber Insurance Is Protection in Case of the Worst
- Cyber Insurance Coverage Checklist
- Cyber Security Risk Questionnaire
- Conclusion
You may be thinking… Our organization does not need cyber security because it’s too small to be a target for hackers. But, did you know the majority of cyber attacks aim for small business organizations?
Hackers typically go after companies with fewer than 100 employees.
The number of cyber attacks more than doubled in 2021 as a result of COVID and are still on the rise. This is because the pandemic caused people to be on social media more often and remote working became the norm. At the present time, cyber security should be a concern for anyone connecting to the internet..
Awareness for Data Security
Data Privacy Week: January 24-28, 2023
Data Privacy Day: January 28, 2023
Did you know hackers tend to prey more often on nonprofits like churches and private schools? One reason is because these businesses have more “trusting” people working or volunteering. But the main reason is because they do not have the resources for costly cyber security services. More specifically, funds are tight for nonprofits and a cyber attack is not on their minds.
Like all enterprises, small businesses have to handle customer data including PII (personally identifiable information) as well. But they rarely have the resources to effectively safeguard that data against the surrounding cyber threats.
So, how can you be sure if your organization is at risk? In this article, while we shed light on cyber threats and some ways to help defend against them. We will also cover ways to protect your organization in case you do get hacked resulting in a data breach. Generally, our goal is to show you how cyber attacks effect businesses like yours. Once you know more about it, you can better protect yourself and the people trusting you with their info.
To start, we must understand the risks involved with online activities. Only then can we start to understand how to defend ourselves and our business.
The Good: Convenience of Digital
The exchange of personal information is an essential part of everyday business operations. Furthermore, this data in digital format is what allows our consumer services to be smarter and faster. Also, the internet is still, by far, the easiest way for businesses to interact with their users.
Generally speaking, below are some ways you may be exchanging personal information online:
- Offering/Tithing
- Donations
- Tuitions
- Home address
- Personal information for employment
- Social Security numbers for background checks
Consequently, with these conveniences come the chance of a dreaded cyber attack on you and/or your business. Furthermore, the risks are rising and will continue to for the foreseeable future.
The Bad: Cyber Security Attacks Are on the Rise
What is a cyber attack?
cyberattack (noun)
An attempt to gain illegal access to a computer or computer system for the purpose of causing damage or harm.
The number of cyber attacks grow as more organizations conduct business online. Moreover, cyber security threats come in many sneaky and deceitful ways. Embedded in anything from an email, to a website, and even in a JPG image file although not that common anymore. Nonetheless, If not caught, they can cause damage to an organization and the individuals involved.
But the security software we pay for yearly should warn and protect us from phishing and malware threats, right?
Well most of the time… Surprisingly, the real issue is the mishandling of info that creates a black hole in even the best security software. Presently, the simple truth is, a cyber attack can happen to anyone… Despite the extra measures and best efforts to prevent a data breach.
The Ugly: Data Breaches Cost the World Trillions Every Year
What is a data breach?
A data breach is a security violation, in which sensitive, protected or confidential data is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen, altered or used by an individual unauthorized to do so.
Accordingly, a successful cyber attack is most always followed by a data breach. Because hackers steal private information on people and organizations yo use it against them. The below infographic shows the expected cost of cybercrime each year until 2017.
Fight Back With Cyber Security Measures
Basically, to protect your organization from a cyber attack, you must know what cyber security does. Then we can understand more about how to use it. Firstly, lets start with the definition of cyber security and what it actually means.
What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the art of protecting networks, devices, and data from unauthorized access or criminal use and the practice of ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
The key word above is “art”, because no one solution can protect you completely. Overall, a combination of security measures is best. But, what works for one nonprofit cyber security doesn’t mean it will work for another. School cyber security looks different than cyber security for churches. Certain conditions in your organization may put you more, or less, at risk of a cyber attack than others. Following are some basic cyber security measures you should have in place currently.
Anti-malware software installed on all devices in your organization is a great start. But is doesn’t stop there… Be cognizant of passwords by making them difficult for a hacker to guess. Never give your password out to anyone unless you know that person in your organization. And, never send sensitive info by email, even if you are positive the email address you are sending to is correct.
Cyber Insurance Is Protection in Case of the Worst
What is cyber liability insurance?
Cyber insurance generally covers your business’ liability for a data breach involving sensitive customer information, such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, account numbers, driver’s license numbers and health records.
Security breaches are expensive, not only in the initial damage, but also in the aftermath. The costs associated with a successful cyber security attack and data breach include:
- investigations
- legal fees
- fines
- penalties
- and more…
But the most important and even greater cost is the damage to the business reputation. Once hacked and private data breached, most small businesses do not survive.
83% of small and medium-sized businesses are not financially prepared to recover from a cyber attack.
For coverage in the event of a cyber attack and data breach, you need insurance specific to cyber crime. Therefore, it is crucial to have a cyber security policy in place at your organization. Specifically to help mitigate the risks involved in the exchange of sensitive information.
Cyber Insurance Coverage Checklist
The below cyber security checklist is to ensure all needed tasks get done. Check-off items you have completed below to help you keep track of tasks that still need done. To emphasize, a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. While the potential for a cyber crime to happen is all day, every day. So, get started soon… The sooner the better.
The FBI reported close to $7 billion lost to cyber crime in the US in 2021
Cyber Security Risk Questionnaire
Is Your Organization at Risk of a Cyber Attack?
Take this short Cyber Security Questionnaire for a quick analysis:
Conclusion
Lastly, our hope is the information in this article is of use to you and your business. Without doubt, we know the world is always changing and the technology serving us is often misused. And despite the selfless service of your organization, there are still operational hazards. Not to mention, the uncontrollable pitfalls that you need protection against for the longevity of your mission.
At Beacon, lighting the way to your peace of mind is our mission.
Thus our goal keeps us driven to provide the coverage you need to find that peace of mind.
The Beacon difference is in our expertise. Because we have served the insurance needs of churches, private schools and nonprofits for over a decade. Likewise, Beacon provides safety resources to help reduce your cyber security risk. It is also our mission to offer the coverage you need to continue your mission of service.
Beacon partners with GuideOne who has over four decades of knowledge and experience in risk. Thus, they are experts on safety for churches, schools and non-profits alike. Therefore, together we provide helpful resources you need for safe operation. All while helping you meet the requirements necessary for comprehensive coverage at lower rates.
Contact us today to have us review your existing cyber insurance policy.
We can also discuss the costs of securing new cyber insurance coverage if needed.
Resources
- Inc. Magazine: Hackers typically go after companies with fewer than 100 employees www.inc.com
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): Security Tip (ST04-001) www.cisa.gov
- CyberSecurity Magazine: 10 Small Business Cyber Security Statistics You Should Know cybersecurity-magazine.com
- Cybercrime Magazine: 60 Percent of Small Companies Close 6 Months of Being Hacked cybersecurityventures.com
- Statista: Cybercrime Expected To Skyrocket in Coming Years www.statista.com
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary: definition of cyberattack www.merriam-webster.com
- Wikipedia Encyclopedia: meaning of data breach wikipedia.org
- Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company: definition of cyber insurance www.nationwide.com
- FBI: FBI Releases the Internet Crime Complaint Center 2021 Internet Crime Report www.fbi.gov
